Soil: it is everywhere. It on the backroads we drive, it is what your home was built on, and it is what brings life to the land surrounding us. It is not dirt, grimy and useless. It is rich with minerals, nutrients, and everything needed to grow grass, plants and trees. Soil like planet Earth has is rare and extremely valuable.
If you are fond of gardening, you know how important soil is. It is most particularly important this time of year as farmers and gardeners begin to access the quality of their soil in order to decide what it needs to be as healthy as possible. After all, if you do not have healthy soil, you will not have healthy plants.
During the wintertime, soil freezes into a crust. Thousands of micro-organisms still flourish inside of it, but it is frozen and impossible to work with. When the snow melts and the ground starts to heat up again, you will notice that your soil will be easier to move around without intense amounts of force. If you try to force it before it is soft and ready, you could do a lot of damage. If your soil is starting to be more crumbly and soft, it is time to get working.
Soil thrives when it has nutrients, but in desert conditions such as Calgary, those nutrients are not naturally produced as quickly. Because of this, you need to help the soil along a little bit. It is time for fertilizer. You can either buy some from the store, or try a more organic approach! People use everything from coffee grounds to cow patties. Starbucks has a program over the summer where they bag up their coffee grounds for people to take for free! Just request it at the front till.
Once your flowers are planted and the vegetables are growing, don't forget about your soil! Continue to water it, give it plenty of Vitamin D, and replenish dry, dead soil with fresh compost and nutrients when needed. When the winter comes, make sure you winterize your garden to help protect the soil (don't worry, we'll give you the run down when the time comes).
Love on your soil and it will love you in return! Happy gardening!
Posted by Ken Richter on
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